DRINKING WATER
How Artificial Intelligence (AI) Is Transforming Water Loss Management For Utilities
AI is reshaping water loss management by turning complex utility data into clearer priorities, faster insights, and more proactive decision-making—without replacing the people responsible for running the system.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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![fire hydrant.jpg]( "Is Your Water System Trying to Tell You Something?")
Is Your Water System Trying to Tell You Something?When something goes wrong, we often ask ourselves if there was some sort of sign that would have lessened the impact. Especially if you are in the business of providing water to people, you might wish you had a crystal ball to get in front of problems before they happen. While we can’t provide you with a crystal ball, we can help give some insight into what your water system may be telling you with the introduction of the AFC SEMPER Remote Pressure Monitor.
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![GettyImages-531267301_450_300 (002)]( "Why Reliable Communication Is Key To The Future Of Water")
Why Reliable Communication Is Key To The Future Of WaterA reliable communications network must have robustness, redundancy, reconnaissance, and resiliency. This article will explain what this means, why it matters, and the necessary steps to build one.
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Coastside County Water District, California Drives System Reliability And Sustainability With Microclor® On‐Site Hypochlorite Generation, Encore® Metering Pumps And PolyBlend® Polymer Activation
Located in northern California, the Coastside County Water District (CCWD) provides treated water to the scenic town of Half Moon Bay and several unincorporated communities in the area. The system is served by two treatment plants, the Nunes Water Treatment Plant (4.5 MGD) and Denniston Creek Water Treatment Plant (1.0 MGD) and water is distributed through about 100 miles of transmission and distribution pipe.
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Known For “Healing Waters,” Pagosa Springs Restores Its Potable Water System With Help From SolarBee® Mixers
Located in the high desert plateau of southwestern Colorado, Pagosa Springs is famous for its geothermal hot springs, which draw visitors worldwide to soak in the mineral-rich water. The Utes called the sulfur springs “Pah-gosah,” meaning “healing waters.” You might say the town’s potable water system is healed now as well.
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![Flexnet Hero Images_Flexnet City Hero]( "Top 5 Things A Utility Should Look For When Choosing An AMI Network")
Top 5 Things A Utility Should Look For When Choosing An AMI NetworkThis guide will help you evaluate the top considerations when trying to select the right Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) network.
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![aquaflex]( "Safety, Savings, Synergy: The Aquana-Itron Partnership Reshaping Utilities")
Safety, Savings, Synergy: The Aquana-Itron Partnership Reshaping UtilitiesIn the ever-evolving realm of smart water solutions, Aquana's AquaFlex™ Actuator Valve (AVS) emerges as a transformative force, promising heightened operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness for water utilities. This American-designed and manufactured remote water shutoff valve, seamlessly integrated into Itron’s AMI network, is poised to reshape the landscape of utility operations.
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![Standard V-Cone Meter]( "Long Term Performance Of V-Cone Flow Meters")
Long Term Performance Of V-Cone Flow MetersThis paper presents the results of 12 V-Cone DP Flow meters tested over a period of 17 years. Service applications for the V-Cones included natural gas as well as coke oven gas measurement, a dirty aggressive fluid that is problematic over long period of time for most flow meters. All testing was conducted in air by a 3rd party calibration laboratory, CEESI Colorado. Results will be presented for each of the meters over the 17 year span. Conclusions and recommendations will be made to the long term performance and recalibration intervals for the V-Cone flow meter.
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![city-of-auburndale-case-study-inc-cs-03109-en-1]( "City Of Auburndale Leading The Way With Smart Water Technologies")
City Of Auburndale Leading The Way With Smart Water TechnologiesLocated in central Florida, the City of Auburndale is a thriving and steadily growing community that boasts great spaces to live, work and play. With more than a dozen lakes and ponds within its borders, a crucial component of the city’s appeal can be found in its abundance of water. In 2016, the Public Utilities Department saw a need to upgrade aging infrastructure across its water system. The city’s water meters and endpoints had provided many years of reliable service, and it was an opportune time to investigate how more advanced technology could benefit the utility and its customers.
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![GettyImages-803155598]( "How Ozone Generators Effectively Remove 1,4-Dioxane From Water Supplies")
How Ozone Generators Effectively Remove 1,4-Dioxane From Water SuppliesThis white paper shows how ozone can be used for the safe, effective removal of 1,4-dioxane from water.
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![360underdrain]( "Looking Ahead: Treatment Plant Counts On Trusted Supplier For Latest Technology")
Looking Ahead: Treatment Plant Counts On Trusted Supplier For Latest TechnologyLearn about the underdrain system that successfully delivered clean water in Northern Illinois.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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Application Note: Using Real-Time Telemetry For Ecological Monitoring Of Coastal Wetlands2/3/2011The Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR)in Mississippi is one of 27 protected estuarine reserves across the United States. By YSI
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The Basics: Testing RO Quality4/28/2014
Osmosis is the phenomenon of lower dissolved solids in water passing through a semi-permeable membrane into higher dissolved solids water until a near equilibrium is reached.
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Application Note: Ozone Measurement In Potable Water3/1/2010
Ozone is a powerful oxidizing agent that can be used to destroy the organic compounds that affect the taste and odor of potable water. Environmental concerns have led to increased use of ozone because, unlike chlorine, it does not form hazardous by-products.
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Removal Of PFCs With Activated Carbon12/30/2013
In recent years, various perflorinated chemicals (PFCs) have come under increasing scrutiny due to their presence in the environment, in animals, and in human blood samples. There are two major classes of PFCs: perfluoroalkyl sulfonates such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and long chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylates such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA).
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LC-MS/MS Analysis Of PFAS Extractables In Polyethersulfone Syringe Filters Using EPA 537.15/18/2022
A key consideration for any PFAS method is to avoid contamination that can impact the accuracy of data, including those coming from sample preparation techniques such as filtration.
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Scrubber Application1/27/2022
This customer supplies district heating and electricity for the region of Sønderborg. For one of their waste applications a MAG meter failed within 6 months, and was successfully replaced with a Panametrics Aquatrans AT600.
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Deployment Of NextStep In Reverse Osmosis Systems1/15/2026
Pulsafeeder has secured a significant order for its NextStep series of stepper motor-driven metering pumps, specifically for use in advanced Reverse Osmosis (RO) applications. This deployment underscores the growing demand for precision chemical dosing in high-performance water treatment systems. The order includes NextStep NS1 and NS9 models, each selected for their unique capabilities in high-pressure and low-pressure RO environments.
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SensyMaster Thermal Mass Flowmeter8/3/2021
SensyMaster helps to improve the operating costs of the most cost intensive process in sewage plants: Aeration. High-measuring performance and state of the art technology helps customers increase plant efficiency.
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Ion Exchange Resins Reduce Pollution From Refineries12/23/2013
A single operational oil and gas refinery produces millions of gallons of contaminated wastewater a year, leading to environmental pollution concerns. Ion exchange resins are a metal- and ion-removal solution to help clean this wastewater for plant reuse or safe disposal. This application guide explains how resins can be used to demineralize refinery water in process, boiler, and cooling water applications.
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Automatic Rinse Tank Controls10/29/2021
Proper rinsing is one of the most important steps in quality manufacturing or metal finishing. Plenty of low cost, good quality water for rinsing has been available in the past, so rinse water conservation has been largely ignored.
DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS
The ORION® Migratable endpoint (ME) is a two-way water endpoint for mobile applications, delivering meter reading data and status information to power the BEACON® AMA Mobile (AMR) solution.
Geospace Technologies offers a complete line of AMI water meter connector cables, specifically designed and manufactured to meet the rugged requirements for in-pit, underwater applications. Geospace’s unique design ensures total moisture sealing for even the toughest underwater environments, yet they are easily re-entered for troubleshooting a transponder or for a meter swap-out.
The PTBT5 is a lab-accurate water quality pocket tester that allows you to use your mobile device and the X2 app to measure, store and export data.
The DPS5000 I2C from Druck, part of the UNIK5000 family, offers integrated digital electronics to enhance the performance level of the UNIK 5000 Pressure Sensing Platform to levels unmatched by traditional analogue sensors. It features an I2C digital interface, over which fully compensated readings of pressure and temperature are sent, as well as control of many functions of the device.
As the latest addition to Hydra-Stop’s award-winning Insta-Valve family of solutions, customers with 20- and 24-inch pipes can now benefit from the only insertable gate valve with the superior performance and reliability you would expect from the Insta-Valve name.
Harmsco dual-stage carbon cartridges are designed for the reduction of hazardous PFOS/PFAS contaminants from potable water sources and are available in a variety of sizes and flow rates.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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![Cutting Red Tape-GettyImages-502421630]( "How The NEPA Rollback Will Impact Water And Wastewater Industries")
The White House has finalized plans to roll back rules under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), narrowing its focus and limiting what the current administration claims are needless delays for federal approval of water, energy, and other infrastructure plans. For water and wastewater utilities, the changes could speed up permitting for critical projects, although experts warn the tradeoffs could do more harm than good. -
![Ultraviolet lamps for water disinfection-GettyImages-1271779123]( "Setting Global Standards: Inside North America's Only Full-Scale UV Disinfection Validation Facility")
Setting Global Standards: Inside North America's Only Full-Scale UV Disinfection Validation FacilityPortland's industry-leading facility reaches 100 reactor validations in 23 years.
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![Water analysis, purification, filtration, treatment, quality monitoring, contamination detection-GettyImages-2234293664]( "Why Haven't Field Tests For Lead In Water Gone Mainstream?")
Given the maturation of sensor technology, the scientific and operational hurdles to portable lead analysis are somewhat surprising — but surmountable.
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![peace-athabasca-delta-flood-mapping-265153]( "What Is Bathymetric Modeling? And How Can It Protect Ecosystems While Saving Resources?")
Bathymetric modeling maps underwater terrain. It also helps guide planning, prevent hazards, and build climate-resilient infrastructure.
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![Large datacenter-GettyImages-2196655358]( "Building Your Water-Positive Data Center Roadmap: A Step-By-Step Implementation Guide")
The data center industry stands at a critical juncture. As facilities scale to meet exponential computing demands, water consumption has emerged as a defining operational challenge. Traditional approaches focused on water efficiency are no longer sufficient. -
![pregnantwater_Getty-2241371016]( "PFAS In Pregnant Women's Drinking Water Puts Their Babies At Higher Risk, Study Finds")
When pregnant women drink water that comes from wells downstream of sites contaminated with PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” the risks to their babies’ health substantially increase, a new study found. These risks include the chance of low birth weight, preterm birth, and infant mortality.
DRINKING WATER VIDEOS
Discover how integrated membrane system designs can maximize the operating stability of EDI systems and reduce mixed bed regeneration frequency.
In Raleigh, N.C., there's a house... or what looks like a house. What's hidden inside is more important than most people realize.
ABOUT DRINKING WATER
In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:
- Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
- Drinking water treatment of source water
- Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers
Drinking Water Sources
Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater.
Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.
Drinking Water Treatment
Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.
There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.
The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.
The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.
During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.
Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.
Drinking Water Distribution
Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.
A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.
Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.